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richardsikens-secretlovechild · 1 year

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here’s a poorly constructed headcanon/rant because my brain is very full rn

yk how there are various poc headcanons for james? like indian, hispanic, filipino, etc. (which i love by the way dont get me wrong!! i love how various groups can share their experiences through him it genuinely brings me joy)

what if i just.. make him jamaican in one of or several of my fics?? what happens then?? who’s to stop me?? like imagine indo-jamaican effie and afro-jamaican monty moving to england during the mass migratory period, settling into the wizarding community there then having james??

and james grows accustomed to wizarding society and england in general but his parents also make sure he still understands his roots

and i can imagine them speaking to him in patois at home and him teaching the boys bits and pieces of the dialect

and because i also head canon that mary is of jamaican decent as well (more so that she has extended family living there even though her parents were born in england), i think she’d let him help her stay in touch with her culture and they’d trade recipes too because jamaican food is god tier and everyone should try it (seriously)

one thing i’ve always been hesitant about is writing my dialect within fanfic. because like when it’s a standard language like french or english it just feels different ig like maybe people won’t be interested in jamaican creole as much because it’s not thought of as one of those romantic languages really it’s just broken english to many people and also it’s not really a language that’s formally written outside of jamaican literature or casual texting between jamaicans

but ykw i don’t think it should matter to me this much and i think i’ll write it regardless because my dialect deserves to be celebrated and also writing is supposed to be a form of expression, there’s no use worrying about what ppl will think about it really and i could def put end notes with translations and stuff

jesus this went from a headcanon to rant to me accepting that i’m allowed to write patois into my fics☠️

#james potter #the gears are turning #and i’ve always felt strongly about the mary portion of the head canon #i think in large part because of atyd #but james #i think it’s because of how after reentering the fandom i just started seeing myself in him so much #so i figured why not just dump my culture unto him as well #what’s he gonna do rise from the dead and tell me i can’t☠️🙏🏾⁉️⁉️#jegulus #mary mcdonald #british jamaicans #marauders #marauder headcanons #fic ideas #the fic was already in the planning stage i just wasn’t sure about certain elements but i’m sure now i think #i just hope i can stay motivated enough to get through it #and i hope i keep focused on the fun of it instead of the technical bits like wizarding culture and canon events #i always end up spiralling into research and lose the will to write

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real-artemis · 10 months

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the annoying thing about ska fans is that they're so optimistic that they'll completely forget about everything that happened in the ska scene before they were alive. its getting better with the 4th wave nowadays but damn...the 90s kids ONLY remember the 90s...

#i literally have to look so hard for history about this genre #why is it so hard it literally involves en mass cultural diffusion from reasons that -- once i found out --#ARE VERY EASY TO TRACE BACK TO SHIT THAT MAKES SENSE #why is ska happy? its music of celebration #what is it celebrating? jamaican freedom from the british #why did jamaican people immigrate to britain? because britain had an extreme loss of employed people #why did they have an extreme loss of employed people? ww2 #why are all the ska bands singing about not having a job then? job market decreased #why did the job market decrease? bloody thatcher #and then the rudeboys had a reason for their genre to be punk-infused #because they were angry about the political atmosphere of the time #plus the only pay they could get was from fighting skinheads #which is ANOTHER thing modern-day moonstompers COMPLETELY dismiss dont even get me started #worst part is its extreeemely in character for ska fans #lmao #anyway ive been studying the history of ska in my freetime #can you tell #ska #2nd wave ska #rambling in the tags #music history #history

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officialbabayaga · 1 year

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i swear i saw a post once about the importance of dancing like a ho in your kitchen. need that

#just watched an ep of a dance doc about jamaican dancehall culture #wow those women understand their bodies! what amazing dancers #anyways hips going crazy in my kitchen. is the point of this #zoe stuff

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neechees · 1 year

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Some historical clothing enthusiasts who AREN'T White because I'm sick of seeing White girls in 19th century clothes:

SewRena: specializes in 1950s American sewing & clothing, she is Black

Cosplay Queen: Chinese youtuber who does stuff like makeup, Hanfu of various time periods, Chinese classical dance, & cosplay. Also does a lot of Mukbang vids

MochiHanfu: another Chinese youtuber who specializes in Hanfu

NamiSparrow: Indian cosplayer who has some vids up about historic Indian fashion & sewing

Notyourmommashistory: Black reenactor who does vids on 1800s fashion, slavery in the 1800s, racism, vintage clothing, & also some cool video essays.

Cheon-Shik Yang: he is a Korean tailor who talks about Hanbok & traditional Korean clothing

Fashion & Culture with Kingsley: focuses a bit more on contemporary African clothing & fashions & geared towards fashion designers, but inspired by traditional African designs (from different countries and cultures, such as Ghana, Ethiopia, & Senegal) and clothing & a bit of historic ones as well.

The Couture Courtesan: mixed race Asian reenactor and historical fashion enthusiast who talks about fashions of various time periods, as early as the Tudor era up to the 1910s.

Eccentrik: Jamaican youtuber with vids focusing on fashion, & in particular either vintage fashion (I believe 1940s-60s), pinup fashion & hair & makeup, or vintage inspired sewing

Ora Lin: a nonbinary tailor (who I believe is Asian), they make videos about sewing & historical fashion of different periods & places, including Regency England, Jin & Ming dynasty China, the Edwardian era, & more.

Honorable mention: Snappydragon not a person of color, but she is Jewish & focuses on European historical fashion & Jewish historical fashion (including time periods the Jewish population would not be considered "White")

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carelesschu · 2 years

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going to get a little bit terminally online but I still find it hard to believe that there are papa louie fans that genuinely don’t see a problem w/ hacky zak’s design

#.txt #like I obvs don’t think tony had any racist intents when designing him lol I doubt he’d be THAT kind of guy #but regardless of how you feel about cultural appropriation/appreciation/etc #why make a customer who’s design is heavily inspired by jamaican culture and then proceed to make him extra pale?#not even ambiguously brown skinned like #I would’ve put this on my flipline sideblog but I feel like I’ve complained too much on there as is lol

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vhstown · 4 months

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super short london slang guide !!

i haven't got a scooby doo about cockney so this is mainly gonna be mle and like the way 14 year old secondary school boys talk oookay let's go (just so yk i am a londonder!!!!!)

direct things to call people (or avoid calling people)

bruv, blud, man, mate, fam (can use in replacement of a pronoun like he, she, you and i or for emphasis — "man's got a meeting, bruv!")

more on "man" it can be used in plural too — "us man" or "them man" or "you man"

my g, my guy (for referring someone you are friendly/friends with)

bossman (something you'd call a shop or business owner — "aye bossman get me the 3 wings and chips yeah")

big man (usually used in a sarcastic friendly but kind of demeaning way, the older cousin of "big guy" — "oi big man what you sayin' cuz?"

i wasnt going to put these here cause of personal preference but 😭 people are gonna use them anyway so i might as well tell you what they mean:

peng (adjective cute/pretty — "her? she's peng!")

leng (adjective hot/sexy — "rah, he's leng you know?)

nouns

ting (usually to refer to a girlfriend but can also just mean "thing"... or a knife? — "don't chat to my ting fam!")

grim (very outdated word for a promiscuous woman — "she's a grim bruv!")

skeng (gun)

shank, spinner (knife)

paper, Ps, pronounced "peas" (money)

ends (neighbourhood, area — "if i catch you in my ends yeah")

mandem (group of friends — "having a laugh at the pub with the mandem" aha)

gyaldem (group of women / female friends)

ganja (weed)

blem (cigarette)

pagan/paigon (snitch or untrustworthy person, not a super common you might wanna use "snake" or "snitch" instead)

wasteman (someone who's useless, a lowlife)

pussio/pussyo (pussy, coward)

other common words and phrases

wagwan, or "wag1" in text (what's up, what's going on)

bare (a lot — "i got bare problems with him!")

gassed (prideful, full of yourself — "im actually so gassed, man got promoted"

"and that" (instead of "and stuff" — "i got links and that")

"allow it" (let something slide — "i forgot my wallet allow it bossman")

safe (like "alright cool", or as a bye — "aight safe")

"pattern up" (fix up, get it together)

hard, tight (cool, good, though "hard" is also used in an offensive way — "bro thinks he's hard, pussio")

blam (to get shot, not actually very common to hear in my experience)

sheffed (up), shanked (to get stabbed)

ahlie (used as an interjection when in agreement with something, similar to phrase "am i lying?")

non-mle specific words i hear sometimes

thick (dumb, stupid)

clapped/tapped (ugly, weird, unattractive)

merk/murk (kill, beat up)

slag, sket (slut)

chav (used to refer to someone of the low social status, associated with violent or rude behaviour)

taking the mick, taking the piss (being annoying)

mad (means crazy obviously but people use it a lot, can have positive and negative connotations — "that's mad!")

nonce (literally means pedophile / sex offender, do what you will with it 😭)

dickhead, bellend (similar to douchebag)

wanker (used towards someone you dislike, or in a joking way)

geezer (usually to refer to an old man)

also!!!

depending on which communities are predominant in the area, words from other languages can come in / have come in

some words are common with US slang too because they share origins 😁 ain't that cool

there's a lot of influence from jamaican patois due to the history of british jamaicans in london for ex in words like "ting" or "mandem" or "wagwan" (hence why mle is sometimes referred to as "jafrican") and its not strange to hear "bomboclaat" or "bloodclaat" here either

in communities where there's muslims and arabs (especially in east london) you might hear arabic terms like "wallahi", "khalas" or "astagfirullah" (though people debate whether that's cultural appropriation or not)

south asians have also had an influence with words like "gora" or "ganja" though again this is largely area based and the impact of hinglish is also found a lot outside of london

some people have a mix of different dialects! i mainly alternate between mle and estuary (sometimes yorkshire don't ask it is very easy to pick up...)

you're not gonna hear every single word here all the time the usage varies throughout london. the way north and west londoners speak can be v different for example

uhhhh if you wanna learn properly just listen to some grime or sutn . listen to londoners speak!

for some more resources in-depth PLEASE check out these guides made by other british people ! (one and two)

ok that's it bye bye british ppl & londoners feel free to add on! it is midnight rn so ive probably missed stuff lol... dms are open in case you've got any questions or want any help :p

#vee rants #hobie brown x reader #spider punk #spider uk #hobart brown #hobie brown #hobie brown x gn!reader #british accent #london accent #potential to be edited

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the-cat-and-the-birdie · 1 month

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ATSV Fun Fact!! - Mumbattan Cultural Details

Gayatri & Inspector Singh follow the Sikh Religion

Have you ever heard of Punjabi Sikhs?

If you don't know - Sikhism is a religion that originates in northern India, specifically Punjab.

The turban Gayatri's father wears - along with his last name 'Singh' implies that her father is most likely a Punjabi Sikh.

I notice this the first time watching ATSV and was like 'wow that's so cool :)'

It only hit me today that 'Oh wait I don't think a lot of people know about this very-specific, rarely-mentioned religion maybe i should say something,'

And because I LOVE yelling about world culture, LET'S GO!!!

[a SHORT essay where I explain the basics of Sikhism, a religion built on equality and justice. And details in The Singhs design, and exactly why Sikh Representation matters]

So What's Sikhism about?

Often mistaken for Muslims - Sikhs are actually a non-Abrahamic religion, with 20 million followers worldwide.

But even with so many visible practicing members, most people know very very little about this beautiful religion!

Sikhs believe in equality and unity - and defending the oppressed. Their book of faith, The Guru Granth Sahib Ji, is called 'Guru' for a reason - Sikhs see the book as not just a code of conduct, but as a living, breathing teacher for every practicioner;

From Wikipedia on Guru Granth Sahib: Sikhs since then [1708] have accepted the Guru Granth Sahib, the sacred scripture, as their eternal-living guru, as the embodiment of the ten Sikh Gurus, the highest religious and spiritual guide for Sikhs. It plays a central role in guiding the Sikh's way of life.

The Guru Granth Sahib is the spiritual leader of Sikhism, and it's treated as such.

That's why in Gurdwaras - their place of worship - it's treated as such, being clothed and held in ornate structure, constantly fanned throughout it's readings (the fan you can see in the left picture).

They believe that by following the Guru Granth Sahib Ji, they can cultivate compassion, peace, and harmony in their communities, while diminishing 'Mara' - concepts like hatred or violence.

Sikhs believe that every Sikh should revere themselves as champions of unity. And because of this many Sikhs have the same last name -

Kaur for women (Meaning Princess) and Singh for men (Meaning Lion).

Having the same last name also does away with the Indian caste system, making it another point of equality.

In ATSV Gayatri last name is Singh. However from my understanding, her name would most likely be Gayatri Kaur in reality.

I think they kept her last name as Singh as a deliberate choice to keep her initials as GS, like Gwen Stacy.

So is Gayatri Sikh?

Maybe - most likely.

But we can't be sure. Mainly because of her hair.

Gayatri has a short bob haircut, and while that might not seem like it matters, it does!

In Sikhism there are the '5K's - different aspects Sikhs wear to show their faith.

Notice the first one?

'Kesh' is the practice of leaving ones hair completely uncut. That's why you may see a lot of Sikh men with long, long beards!

And hence, the large turbans.

It's done as respect for God's creation - leaving it unaltered.

[Fun Fact! - Rastafarians, a Jamaican religion, also don't cut their hair for this reason. Think Bob Marley. Rastas call God - Jah]

So, Gayatri having short hair means she doesn't keep Kesh.

However, Sikh is a super accepting and open religion, and it's main focus is on acceptance of difference, not conformity - so she could entirely follow the faith without doing all of any of the 5Ks.

Also, if you're curious about the steel sword K - Kirpan, yes that's a thing!

Sikhs of all genders are encouraged to carry a small ceremonial blade with them.

Instead it's a symbol of the commitment to fighting for what's right - and defending those who cannot defend themselves.

A Kirpan can ONLY be used to defend the life of yourself or others, which is incredibly rare.

Why is this all so rad, cool, and important?

If you haven't noticed by now, Sikhism is a religion driven by justice. Not just in theory, but in really life as well.

That's why you may see many Sikh police officers and politicians, even here in the West. Most of them wearing the emblem on their turbans.

In fact, Canada has SO MANY Sikh politicians, that in 2019 they elected 18 of them.

For centuries Sikhs have been dedicated to justice, and developing systems of support, whether that be political involvement or feeding those in need.

The biggest Gurdwara (a place of Sikh worship) The Golden Temple feeds over 100,000 people A DAY.

For FREE.

It's a practice called Langar. A communal meal anyone can enjoy. And of course, Langar food is vegetarian.

Making Inspector Singh a Sikh - and showing him saving people and being warm to his daughter on screen is great representation for a community so often overlooked! Despite the fact they are over 20 million practicing Sikhs.

It's a great detail for Indian and Punjabi representation in specific. It accurate shows their beliefs and commitment towards helping others, no matter the cost.

And from what we can tell, this choice came later in development. We know this because ALL of his concept art shows him with a turban, not keeping Kesh.

It seems like someone later on down the line said 'Wait if his name is Singh I think he's Sikh and if he's Sikh then we're gonna have to redesign him and make that obvious oops'.

That, dear audience, is why you always have an Anthropologist in the writing room. Or some amateur anthropologist like me :)

-------------

I hope you enjoyed reading this, I really enjoyed writing it!! Sikhism is one of my favorite religions and if you have never heard anything from the Guru Granth Sahib I HIGHLY recommend it, it's very optimistic and compassionate. Sikhnet(.)com is also a great resource!

I have no idea if this will pique anyone's interest, but I hardly ever see Sikhs reflected in media and I know many many people may confuse them with Muslim, especially since many women Sikhs keep kesh and cover their hair as well.

But if you ever wanted to know the difference, here it is! If you read this far, thank you SO MUCH. And if you're a Sikh and reading this, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH.

As usual, here's a photo of Hobie for your travels.

BYE.

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korizzybee · 6 months

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Imagine being Jake Sully’s and Neytiri’s adopted daughter, child of someone who was an old friend of Jake’s:

Info: reader’s mom’s avatar had darkskin black features (Afro hair + dark eyes + dark blue skin) so reader also has those features, reader has an Jamaican accent, reader is Navi Avatar hybrid and has 5 fingers and eyebrows, reader is 13 years old

Boom your mom was 5 years old when she moved from Jamaica to North America, she and Jake became childhood friends (more like they became soul siblings)

The same day the RDA recruited Jake, they recruited your mother too

She also spends time observing the Navi and learning their ways with Jake, but Tsu’Tey was her teacher instead

As she lives there for months, she and Tsu’Tey fall in love and mate at the tree of spirits (JAKE N NEYTIRI DUUUUPE)

She and Neytiri actually became pregnant at the same time, literally shortly after they both mate with their men at the spirit trees

Your dad dies during the war yada yada yada, they win and skip boring stuff

For some reason when Neytiri has her baby, your mother is unable to give birth to you and she remains pregnant for 2 more years

The pregnancy drains her energy, making her look even skinnier and her skin color fade as her cheeks become hollow

When she finally gives birth and before she dies she whispers a name that’s a mixture between her’s and Tsu’Tey’s

Neytiri holds your small crying form silently shushing you while Jake cries over your mom’s dead body, she was like an older sister to him

Jake adopts you and when you’re old enough he starts teaching you about your human culture as it was a big part of your mother’s life and she loved her culture more than anything

This leads him to also explaining why you’re different from all the other Omaticaya, but he also explains it’s not a bad thing

You growing up with mixing your life with both your Navi and Jamaican cultures

You are the closest to Neteyam, he’s SOOOOO protective over you (you are his favorite shhhh don’t tell Lo’ak)

Since you’re a lot shorter than your older siblings, you often get carried by them

Jake teaching you so much about humans, pop culture references, music tastes n everything!!!! (Girl you literally take inspiration from his teachings and make your own clothing style out of Navi clothes)

Neytiri making you the most beautiful song cord ever about the love story of your mom and Tsu’Tey and your birth

You and Kiri bonding over both being adopted

You and Tuk are so goofy together, always making Neytiri laugh n shi

You two also bond over being the babies of the family

You and Lo’ak always playing tag in the forest

You immediately loved spider when you all first met him as little kids, (I mean, your mom was once human so you didn’t hate them at all)

ALWAYS wearing your mother’s Na’vi and human hair pieces and your father’s necklaces

Jake teaching you how to fight the human way because your mom was better than everyone in the RDA at that

Going to the Lab with Kiri to see videos of your moms together (they also grew to be close friends and would sometimes just make videos of them being stupid together)

Jake and Neytiri are the only ones allowed to do your hair (your mom taught them how to take care of Afro hair once), they make sure your hair is always healthy

You look so much like your mom but you get your smile, eye shape, and bodily markings from Tsu’Tey

When you can’t sleep, Jake would tell you his childhood memories about your mom

You’re a very spiritual child, always talking with a calm voice, you’re a little shy and always have a good opinion on everyone (girl while Neteyam finna future clan leader, you’re the future Tsahik)

Boom Quaritch bitch ass shows back up (YALL IM SORRY BUT HIS AVATAR IS SO FINEEEEE) and y’all have to flee

You have your own Ikran and she’s named after your mother (let’s just call her Irie)

Y’all make it to the lands of the Metkayina and Ronal starts hating on y’all for being different then she points out how your hair and looks over all are different from your family’s

Neytiri hissing at her as Neteyam and puts you behind him side eyeing Ronal, Jake defending your looks (W DAD)

Y’all get to live among the clan and lowkey….Rotxo he kind of crushing on you I mean not tryna be that one writer butttt uhhh you are the prettiest member of your family (behind Neytiri no one beats her)

You and Rotxo lowkey be flirting with your eyes, giving each other shy looks and blushing like middle schoolers

BUT ANYWAYS THAT’S IT FOR PART 1 IMA DO A PART 2 (this has been marinating in my drafts for months)

#korizzybee’s work #x black reader #avatar 2 x reader #avatar x reader #atwow #atwow x reader #roxto x reader #roxto avatar #jake sully x daughter reader #jake sully #neteyam imagine #neteyam #neytiri #kiri sully #tuktirey #loak sully #james cameron avatar

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vyl3tpwny · 8 months

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Music Genres

When I was kid, you would have probably heard me say something like “I don’t believe in genre labels”. To a degree, there is still something about that sentiment that I agree with; I don’t think you can really put music and styles of music in neat little boxes. But otherwise, I was pretty much wrong about everything else.

Let’s go over that.

pictured: Mala, one of the godfathers of roots Dubstep

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To be blunt, “genre” isn’t just about approximating what a song sounds like. If you say “I love pop music”, that honestly doesn’t mean much. The more specific you get, the more you will approach something someone can imagine like “I like experimental progressive noise pop music”. Ok, I can start to imagine things that likely approach what you're talking about, but even then it will usually not help someone fully understand what something truly is. In categorizing and approximating music styles, genres only go so far. So what makes them important then?

Well, not to say that approximating a style when describing an artist to someone is a bad thing or that doing so isn’t meant to be valued, but it’s hardly the only reason these labels exist. Importantly, “genre” helps establish culture, history, and a musical identity. So when you're trying to tell someone you're listening to a "progressive rock” project, you’re not just imagining odd time-signatures and complex riffs, you’re also meant to understand and consider that whatever is being described as to you has some sort of relevance or importance with regards to the history behind progressive rock; the culture of college bands in the UK, the sound that the punk movement revolted against, the progression of musical storytelling in rock music since the late 60’s and early 70’s, stuff like that. There’s a distinct culture and history you can pinpoint and understand when you describe something as being progressive rock and you can’t just go around calling any complex electric guitar oriented music "progressive rock" unless it has those specific ties as well as understanding and iteration of the roots.

pictured: Genesis, because progressive rock mention

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Genre labels help to clarify what kind of culture and histories a music project is being associated itself with and where a lot of its inspiration comes from. This is much more compelling reason for underlining the importance of genre labels and why they should be used correctly.

So, there is something I need to get off my chest then. There are a lot of misuses of genre labels all over the place, especially online. And I’m not talking about saying something is “Alternative Rock” when it’s clearly some kind of “Folk Rock” record instead. What I’m talking about is something like “Dubstep”.

Even as recent as a few years ago, I started personally reclaiming the term “Dubstep” as a genre label to describe any bass-adjacent music. At the time I did this, I thought it was cool, because the term Dubstep had been dubbed (pun intended) to be cringeworthy lexicon to some people. And while I feel that’s a noble reason to reclaim something like that, because some weirdos think it's cringe, in this case I actually think it’s wrong.

The term “Brostep” has been used to describe any non-roots bass-oriented music that originates from the proper roots Dubstep. It’s a term I didn’t like FOREVER, especially because the phrase was derived as a generalization of the kind of people who tend to listen to it. However, I actually think that Brostep is a title that people should be more comfortable and confident with labeling things as.

The original Dubstep came as a result of Jamaican immigrants bringing Dub music to the UK, which then fused with the remnants of 2-Step Garage which was prominent in the 90’s just years prior. Timbah.On.Toast made a great video called All My Homies Hate Skrillex and it is a really good breakdown of what separates roots Dubstep from the Americanized Brostep, which came after it. I think everyone knows by now that I have a deep, deep love for EDM based Broste and I am the biggest Skrillex fangirl alive. So being both a Brostep and Skrillex superfan, please understand that I think the video is one of the most important things you can watch as an EDM enjoyer.

Conflating the term Dubstep with things that aren’t actually Dubstep is honestly a slap in the face to all of the pioneers of Dub and Dubstep, which famously were both pretty much ENTIRELY invented by black people. I think it’s fair to say that incorrectly labeling music in this way has racist implications. It dishonours and twists the legacy of the music. You can find og Dubstep to listen to on the RYM Ultimate Box Set > Dubstep page. Check some of that out, then listen to some 2010, 2011 Skrillex and see how different things really went.

It confused me at first when I was a teenager, I didn't understand why so many people hated Skrillex back in the day. I came to realize so much of the hate wasn’t even really with regards music itself, but the total lack of understanding or care for the roots of the genre, which all of his work was founded upon and he then subsequently bastardized without caring at all. It was pure disrespect, it was practically cultural erasure and so many people will now only know of Dubstep as “that Skrillex transformer screech music”. Yeah. It actually fucking sucks.

But there is a LONG history of black music being erased from history and being undermined, whether entirely intentional or due to systemic unawareness.

I saw a post the other day talking about how it sucks that so much music is just lumped into being “video game music” when so much of this stuff has deep roots and cultural significance. The first example pointed how a lot of acid jazz music is just described as “Persona music” by the layperson now. Meanwhile, Acid Jazz as a genre is a huge development on things like roots jazz, disco, funk, and hip hop music. You know. All genres that were invented by black people. Fascinating, right?

Jungle music was also mentioned. And this one is very particular for me. Jungle music, when not being generalized as "PS1 Music", is often just called drum & bass or breakcore (also please Google the difference between breakbeat and breakcore, thanks) which are all fundamentally misunderstanding what Jungle music even is. Much of Jungle music, AS MANY THINGS DO, finds VERY prominent roots in Reggae, Dub, and sound system culture in Jamaica as well as countless other prominently black communities in the UK.

But it doesn’t stop there.

If you’re unfamiliar, there is a genre called “IDM”, otherwise known as Intelligent Dance Music. When I was a kid, and I first heard that word, I immediately was like “that is the most pretentious, stupid thing I’ve ever heard”. Eventually as I grew up, I just stopped thinking about that and started referring to more music as IDM. This style of music is generally characterized with “complexity” and being “not much danceable”. While I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the music that is called IDM, I do think there’s everything wrong with the term IDM, intelligent dance music.

When asked how he feels about being labeled as an IDM artist, Aphex Twin responded:

"I just think it's really funny to have terms like that. It's [basically] saying 'this is intelligent and everything else is STUPID.' It's really nasty to everyone else's music."

pictured: Aphex Twin, the funnyman himself

—

I think most people would agree with this sentiment. It’s so strange to call one kind of music “intelligent”, out of the hundreds of thousands of genres out there. But let’s bring this back to Jungle music. The reality is that IDM started to become a term around the same time that Jungle music became prominent, in the 90's. Both styles of music are complex, introspective, skittery, and chaotic (but refined and often disciplined) genres. Except, of these two, Jungle music was the one pioneered primarily by black artists. IDM was a sort in competition with Jungle. To therefore call IDM “intelligent” in comparison to Jungle music ... well. I don’t feel like I really have to explain why that’s fucked up.

A lot of people have proposed different names for IDM. A quick look on reddit yields things like “Experimental Electronic” and “Brain Dance” (which was coined by Aphex Twin's label). Me personally, the term “Electro-Prog” comes to mind. Sounds cool.

Similar conversations are presently being had about the term “Riddim”. This brings us back to the dubstep side of this discussion again. Riddim, as an EDM genre, is an offshoot of Brostep music that focuses a lot on repetition over the downbeat, maintaining an insanely distorted sound design, a lot more than the average Brostep song. However, the term “riddim” originates — yet again — from the Jamaican Patois for “rhythm”. And Riddim as a musical style in Jamaica is actually more associated with things like dancehall and reggae, rather than the commercialized "Riddim" that is several hundred times removed from its own roots.

Last year, musician INFEKT proposed that what most EDM listeners call “riddim” should be referred to instead as “Trench” in an article on their website. This proposed name is derived from Getter’s use of the term on his 2014 record “Trenchlords Vol. 1”. I don’t personally know how much I resonate with the term, but whatever the consensus is, I don’t think we should be conflating a westernized, commercialized, and EDM-centric genre like this to Jamaican roots music. Over and over again, it seems that black music is constantly overwritten by developments like this, so I think more care needs to be taken in not allowing that to happen.

As a side note, a lot of people online seem very keen on appropriating Jamaican Patois quite often? There are so many examples of this. When the term “Bomboclaat” started making the rounds on Twitter a few years ago, so many white people were quick to either talk wildly about the term and trend or otherwise start saying it as well. There was a fucking article that sought to answer “The Bomboclaat >> Meme << Meaning Explained”, like they’re not dissecting an element of Jamaican slang lol. Then there was a period of time where people were constantly saying things like “On Jah?” as a stand-in for “On God?” even though this, again, is Jamaican Patois. And even now, you have tons and tons of non-black people going everywhere being like “what is blud waffling about?”, the phrase “blud” ONCE AGAIN also being Jamaican in origin.

I shouldn’t even have to explain what makes these kinds of appropriations weird and messed up. But black people lose jobs and are denied basic things in life over their hair styles, their expressions and slang, and so many other things that a white person can just appropriate and face zero consequences whatsoever for.

That aside, aside. Understanding and labeling genres correctly is such a big part of music history and highlighting and preserving cultures worldwide. When efforts are made to undermine the meaning of a genre label or otherwise use it incorrectly, so much damage is done to the communities and people groups that innovate and pioneer this art to begin with.

For these reasons, I will gladly use the term Brostep. I will happily call things Electro-Prog. And when you talk about genres like Jungle and Dubstep, say it with your whole chest. Be proud of the human race, show respect and love for the people who have forged the greatest parts of music with their bare hands. We will always stand on the shoulders of giants as musicians, so instead of pretending you yourself are the giant, build monuments and maintain the history of these people. You as an artist are nothing without them.

pictured: Augustus Pablo, one of the most important innovators of Dub. Without him, and without many of his contemporaries, I would reckon that half or more of all modern music would simply not exist.

CONTENT WARNING FOR THIS FINAL SECTION, THERE ARE LIKE LOTS OF STRANGE SLURS AND RACIST VIBES.

—

One last thing I wanna mention, this is slightly tangential but I think it's relevant to this conversation. It's always weird how lots of websites categorize things like this:

From Big Fish Audio... "G**sy*? "World/Ethnic Loops & Samples"? What the fuck are you talking about. Seems like racism to me.

On Loopmasters they have a "World" section. Any Americanized genre gets its own category, but the entire continents of Africa and Asia as well as the country of India and region of the Middle East (which are part of Asia, hope this helps btw) and lastly South America are stuffed into the nebulous "World Label". Seems like racism to me. Are you telling me you weirdos can't figure out a better way to represent these things?

But then Psy Trance gets its whole entire own category? Aren't there only like five people who listen to Psy Trance? /hj . But like come on.

Shoutout to WA Productions for categorizing a universe of suspiciously mostly black music as """Urban"""". And this company is a dime a dozen, hundreds of corpos do this shit.

East fucking West, what is this dude. There is a racism happening, I just know it. Please give me a count of how many poc are on payroll at your company, I am so curious.

And while we're at it, East West, what is this. Tell me. Fucking tell me.

Thanks for reading.

#vyop

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writingoddess1125 · 5 months

Text

Soo I wanted to imput my own culture on this one!

COD Men + König Dating a Jamaican Women

König

• You and König had been together for quite a while. Spending most of your guys relationship in Europe and in his home country.

• But when you make to offer of having him meet your family he is more then happy to accept!

• He didn't expect to take a plane to the tropicals however- Ending up in such a touristy area at first. Till you lead him off the beaten bath to a much more rural area to introduce him to your family.

• They are a but surprised at first, seeing such a large man. However accept him with open arms- Your Mummy especially.

• You handed your mother her drink, watching her as she looked at the new member of the family who was seated playing cards with your cousin- The shorts She'd bought clearly being a size too small to fit him comforbly.

• It was like she got the son she wanted the most- Immediately having him change into more comforble clothes. Fed him, and forced you to walk him around the prettiest parts of town.

• "Why does it feel like my Mum likes you more then me!?"

• Konig could only laugh at this and shyly disagree.

• However after your Mum took him shopping since she felt like he didn't have the proper clothes he couldn't disagree further.

• He absolutely adores the beaches of your home and spends so much time swimming he gets a golden tan in a short amount of time.

• "Gonna need to order some better shorts" You mumbled- not wanting him to have a wardrobe malfunction while around your family. Your mother laughing at this and patting your hip- "Wen yuh climb tall trees yuh get langggg branches-"

• "MUMMY!"

Gaz

• You decided that it was time for Gaz to meet your family, wanting to take that extra step together.

• They are so excited to meet him they start chattering away immediately- However Gaz figures out very quickly...

• He is more then thrilled. Having wanted to take that next step with you for quite a while- So when the plan arrived at your home he was so happy to see your family there to meet you and him there.

• He doesn't know what the fuck they are saying-

• They had accidently assumed he knew Patwah and were corrected by you quickly. Since they assumed he was Jamaican like you-

• "Wait it's not just an accent?" Gaz asks softly to you, Which leads to you explaining that it's a Creole language called Patwah.

• Your Aunty however seemed to take the liking to Kyle the most. Seeing him as great husband potential for you- As well as dropping 'hints' about a wedding. Which was amusing since she had the thickest of accents out of your entire family.

• "Kyle lov, Wi wud waan (Y/N) married yah inna di yard. A nuh eh ah luk gud place tuh marry an av babies?" (Kyle Love, we would want married here at home. Isn't it a pretty place to marry and have babies? )

• Gaz didn't know what she said per say- But he did year the word Married and Babies.

• He does have a blast however, going out dancing with you, drinking with your family and having a grand time- But most was being fed near constantly.

• "Nyam up Maaga bwoy" (eat up skinny boy)

• Gaz was satted there in the kitchen of your family home, Staring as your Aunty adds another massive scoop of Rice and Peas to his growing plate. Filled delicious foods he could only dream of back home.

• It seemed like there was no escape from this pleasurable hell- and he couldn't be happier

• Gaz nodded obediently as he took up more rice on his fork and continued to eat. You trying to tell your aunty to not force feed your boyfriend.

Soap

• You bring up wanting Johnny to meet your family after officially meeting his- Seeing how it would be fair and should be a fun experience.

• Seems he found his people-

• Of course he is more then willing! Seeing it as a fun get away as well-

• When he arrives his naturally cheery personality wins over your family quickly. Ends up having a blast with them the first day and eats so much he almost gets suck.

• There is a mild language barrier- However it was overcome rather quickly.

• Your cousin seemed to absolutely ADORE Johnny. Taking the two of you out to clubs and different bars around the area.

• "We should buy a place out here- for times like this" He said, Leaning against you as the two of you walk back to your families house.

• Finds out quickly that it's relatively cheap in parts and having his nice military paychecks went a lloonnggg way here.

• Adsolutely loves the drinks. The Ginger beer, the Red Strike, Sorrel.

• Adores them honestly!

• This man has met other half it seems as bottles seem to rain around him.

• "Yu Drunk?" Your cousin calls out to Johnny who is dancing against you with a bright smile on his face.

• "A'm Blootert!" He shouts. His accent so strong its funny-

• Johnny ends up so drunk, he's locked arms with your cousin, seated under the romada singing some imaginary song they had made up together.

Ghost

• You take the opportunity to get your hair braided as well- seeing how for once you don't have to pay an arm and a leg for it.

• It takes a lot of convincing on your part to get Simon to come meet your family. You'd been dating more then long enough and he finally agrees one day-

• However he still wears some form of mask- in his case a skull face mask that is still breathable while keeping him covered.

• Your family was a bit apprehensive of Simon of first- surprised by such a brooding figure you'd dragged with you.

• That was till your father stepped forward and welcomed Simon with open arms. Which lead to the rest of the family also being warm and welcoming-

• Simon accepts this and goes along with the kind greetings from everyone.

• Simon tags along, which surprises you. Ends up asking the hair dresser questions constantly.

• "Wah mek yu deh ask suh much?" Your hairdresser staps a bit-

• "I want to learn how- do I can help her do her hair or our future children's" He says bluntly and truthfully.

• Wins over the whole Salon just like that.

• He has never met a group so God damn stubborn then your family- He can refuse all he wants but ends up being given or dragged some place.

• Getting a step by step on how to do different braids by the nice women at the Salon who baby him- even buying him lunch too.

• The soilder taking the day with your father. The two just enjoying the day together- Simon even smoking with him a little which made him relax more then he expected (You weren't there to tell him-)

• Didn't want a drink- Now has 4 he has finished. Refused an addional plate of food?- He had 3 more and some fruit.

• The only person who wasn't pushy was your father. Who was as stoic and laid back as Simon.

• Simon enjoyed the relaxing time with your Father- The two sitting on the front patio with their drinks sipping away as they occasionally chatted.

• This day being the same, When Simon got up prepared to be dragged to a other fun active place. But instead your father waving him over to sit with him.

• Looking to you as you just nod for him to go do as he pleased-

Price

• By the time you came back, Both men were actually chuckling at some sort of joke together. That night you looking to Simon who laid in bed with you shocked-

• "My Dad actually likes you-" You say in disbelief. Simon only nodding and smiling at your words.

• By the next morning he is as red as a Tomato and sunburned to high hell.

• John is willing to meet your family. Finding it would he a nice holiday and fun overall since he hadn't been to the Caribbeans since he was first in the military.

• When arriving he did notice some stares, since he was so clearly military and learned the distrust was real.

• But your family was open to him in extending that olive branch to him.

• Your uncle however- took some convincing. Which ended up getting John hazed of sorts.

• "Mek wi si wah yu gat Brit-" Your uncle Said with a grin. John of course accepting a challenge. From drinking, Dancing and more. Which ended up with the two shit talking each other-

• By the end of the night John and your Uncle were as thick as thieves.

• John even proud of the hand rolled cigarettes your uncle had given him.

• "Don't take his cigarettes-" You say calmly. Taking the homemade rolled cigarette from your boyfriend and handing him a packed one instead.

• While you were with some of your cousins catching up John sat out on a chair with your Uncles and cousins. The group smoking cigars and cigarettes and chatting away.

• Seemed time was lost on the both of you as John sat out in the sun far too long. Ignoring the reddening of his skin-

• Your poor Boyfriend tho-

• "Fuck-k" John mutters, wincing as he sits down with his arms held out. Your uncle laughing at him-

• You spend the evening rubbing Aloe in his skin and fanning his skin to help ease the burn.

• "Burned noice an criss Hm?" Your uncle said with a laugh making John give a fake glare at the old man.

• "Ah fuck ya you old geezer-" John winced out making the men around him laugh hard at his suffering.

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melonba11s · 2 months

Text

A Public Apology

I would like to start this by saying that I am sorry. I am sorry for my words in the past that have hurt others.

I will not be naming any names for the sake of privacy, and so that these people can hopefully have some peace. I do not want anyone to be hurt.

In mid-January of 2023, in the now closed Patreon Server for YKMET, A person posted a black and white doodle of a character. I was not looking closely and referred to what I saw in part the drawing as a “blob monster”. I was corrected, told that it was a drawing of the person's natural hair texture from behind. I did not read the tone of the conversation correctly, and thought everything was taken in stride as a mistake that could be joked about.

The next day, the same person who posted the drawing was talking about Marten, a character from a Webcomic called Facility. This character is known for having black shadow-like hallucinations.

I made a joke, stating that Marten may mistake the person's hair for one of his hallucinations.

Immediately the person asked me to stop. I deleted the comment. I then instantly DM’d them an apology.

My apology was not a good one. I apologized for “being cringe on main”. My words made it clear that I did not understand how hurtful and racially charged my comment was. No more words were exchanged between me and the person afterwards. I knew I had hurt them, and told myself I would watch what I said from here on out, but failed to say this to the person I’d hurt or to anyone else.

It was only when it was brought back up a year later, in January 2024, did I realize just how hurtful my words must have been. I realized the horribly racist connotations of what I said.

I made another apology, this one public, but failed to say what I did. I can’t hide what I did. To censor myself and hide what I did is the same thing as acting as though it never happened.

But it did.

What I said about this person’s hair was unacceptable and racist. It came from a place of ignorance.

There were also statements about me making offensive remarks on Jamaican culture or making fun of someone for being Jamaican.

I do need to state that I do not remember anything about my remarks on Jamaican culture.

What I remember when it came to topics of Jamaica was talking about Jamaican food and how I wanted to try some, as I had never had it before.

However, I can understand that I could just be forgetting what I said that was hurtful and bigoted because it did not affect me. So I apologize again, and I will continue to educate myself on other cultures, and learn to think before I speak, and when I do speak, ask questions and not just make statements.

I do not want to remain an ignorant person. I want to learn. I want to grow. And most of all, I want to show that I am sorry for what I said.

If the person I hurt happens to read this, I am sorry. I regret what I said. If I could take back the hurt I caused you, I would.

I won’t ask for your forgiveness.

All I hope for you is that you are surrounded by people who treat you with more kindness, understanding and respect than I did.

Again, I am sorry. I cannot excuse my words. I can only apologize for them, and learn from my mistakes so that I can be a better friend in the future.

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